WCOOP Report up to Event#4

WCOOP #1 Limit Razz $200+15 1297 entrants

1209 out of 1297

To be honest, I don't know if I played well this tourney, by my results I guess not. I did practice the day before playing some satellites to have a feeling for the game, actually I think the game it's pretty easy to master, but I guess I'll have to wait to prove it.

WCOOP #2 No Limit Holdem $500+30 4495 Entrants

4252 out of 4495

Pretty good tourney with a $2,247,500 prize pool, with $365,218 for first place.
Well, I get to play just one important hand:
-------------------------------------
Blinds: t10/t20
9 players

Stack sizes:
Hero (CO): t2460
BT: t2380

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is CO with Ac8c
5 folds, Hero raises to t60, Button raises to t150, 2 folds, Hero calls t90 (pot was t240).

Flop: :6d :8d :8s (t330, 2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t225, Hero raises to t760, Button raises all-in t2230, Hero calls t1470 (pot was t3320).

Villian shows KsKd

Turn: Kh (t4790, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t4790)

River: 7d (t4790, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t4790)
---------------------------------------------

Analysis:

Peflop: My raise preflop was ok, I'm in LP with a nice hand and I'll be happy to play with the blinds if they want to. Button makes a little raise, usually this means a pretty strong hand unless you know the player since some good players use to do this with whatever shit they want to play in the button. I decided to call, I think my decision will be an easy one unless I catch an A, but still, I think I won't lose much when I'm behind and I can stack my opponent if he indeed has a big pair.
Flop: The flop was perfect, here you can lead but I prefer to check raise, I think I win more this way when they have nothing and make a continuation bet; and also it would be easier to stack them if they do have a big pair like it was the case. He cooperated and put all his chips in the pot with the overpair.
Turn: 2006's special.

I was pretty shortstacked after this hand, and went out a little after when I happily put all my remaining chips with JJ only to find somebody in the blinds with AA.

WCOOP#3 Pot Limit Omaha $300+20 with rebuys

I missed this one since I thought it would be at the same time as the previous 2 tourneys, but they changed the hour for the weekdays tournaments. Anyways, Omaha is so confusing with that many cards in your hand.

WCOOP#4 No Limit Match Play $200+15 2048 entrants

68 out of 2048

This was a heads up tourney, money was at 256, so you have to win your first 3 matches to cash. I'm no expert in HU play, but I usually have done well the few times I have played HU tourneys. I won my first 4 matches against pretty good players, usually they were more aggressive than me and I think I adjusted pretty well versus their aggression. My 5th opponent was also good, but I think, at least 3 of the previous 4 were better than him, he was less aggressive than me and i think my mistake was that I failed to adjust properly to this fact.

I think the most important hand in that last match up was this one:

----------------------------
Blinds: t400/t800
2 players

Stack sizes:
SB: t23520
Hero: t24480

Pre-flop: (2 players) Hero is BB with AhQd
SB calls t400 (pot was t1200), Hero raises to t2400, SB calls t1600 (pot was t3200).

Flop: :2s :6h :9d (t4800, 2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets t2400, Hero raises to t5600, SB calls t3200 (pot was t12800).

Turn: :7s (t16000, 2 players)
Hero bets t6400, SB calls t6400 (pot was t22400).

River: :2c (t28800, 2 players)
Hero checks, SB checks.

Results:
Final pot: t28800
Hero showed Ah Qd
Villian showed Jd 9c
-------------------------------------

I think I did my best to represent an overpair, I think the check-raise in the flop and the strong bet in the turn were pretty good, I couldn't fire another barrel in the river, since in my mind he was calling. In retrospect I think I shouldn't make any sophisticated plays versus this kind of opponent since he was pretty straightforward and more willing to call, so I should have changed my strategy with him; being just a little more aggressive than him and value-bet strongly my good hands, but I didn't change gears with him.

I was pretty upset with myself after the tourney, I just won $816, but I felt I didn't play my best in my last match, I played pretty good poker the first 4 matches against stronger players but I didn't against this player, he was good but not as good as some of the previous ones. Besides, I was pretty distracted doing some other things at the time, I was in a conference call, my little kid was crying and I didn't sleep the night before. So, my judgement wasn't the best. Luckily I can correct some of these things for future tourneys, and it's good to be playing poker again.

WCOOP

Back to poker !!

I'll play most of the events of the WCOOP, the World Championship of Online Poker in PokerStars. There will be 18 tournaments between today and October 1st and hopefully I can play some 12 of them. LOL, this is almost the total number of online tourneys I have played in the last 2 months. Lets see if things change or if I go busto, haha, wish me luck. In this pretty moment I'm playing a satellite to the first event, a $215 Razz tournament; Razz is fun, garbage cards are the nuts !!!

Want $1000 ?

I have not played almost at all, I have not written, basically I have not done anything, anxiety attacks and depression got the best of me these days; I'll probably make a post about this in the future.
I just want to tell you right now about this bet. There is a sportsbook that is offering a sick promotion on the Pittsburgh-Miami game next Thursday, you need to bet $1,100 US dollars to Pittsburgh, if Pittsburgh wins, you win $1000 dollars, and the beauty is that if Miami wins then the sportsbook refunds you your $1,100 and you lose $0. Incredible !!. Too good to be true, yes, but it is, I have done some research and it looks like a legit bet and promotion and it does make sense for the sportsbook from a marketing point of view. So, if you have $1,100 in your Neteller account or have $1,100 you can use, this is it, even if you don't bet sports (I don't); this promotion is just too good to miss. If you want to do it, please follow this link to the promotion, you can read the details in the home page. Basically you need to open an account, fund your account with $1,100 and make the bet in the sportsbook (don't confuse with the sports exchange, the bet has to be made in the sportsbook). You also need to bet exactly $1,100 to Pittsburgh with the line such that you will win $1000 and you can't hedge (making a bet to Miami). The value of this promotion is easily $500; I made it when the line was PIT -5, but since "Big Ben" (the PIT QB) had surgery yesterday, he won't play next Thursday, so the line today is EVEN, a great line for the people doing the bet today and of course pretty bad news for all of us who already made the bet at -5. Hopefully you have the money to make it. It's one of those rare pretty good promotions that happen from time to time.
Now, back to my hole.